E-mails from Heaven?

Mediums--persons able to go into a trance and speak out messages from the Gods, devas or people "on the other side"--are common in Hinduism, in both villages and big cities. Few Hindus are probably aware that the West also has a long tradition of channelers, who are now going hi-tech. In a recent development, modern research laboratories in Europe are reporting extended, two-way communication with spirit colleagues almost daily, receiving messages through telephones, answering machines, radios, computers and TVs. The admittedly controversial developments have a substantial following, especially in Europe and America.

The quietly growing field, called Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) currently involves two dozen researchers in eight countries who work, they say, with a team of more than 1,000 spirit beings (including Thomas Edison, Madame Curie and Nikola Tesla). These beings are quickly mastering the art of manipulating the energies of our modern technology--an interaction giving direct physical evidence of life after death.

The TV image, left, was recorded by Adolf Homes of Germany. He says it is Friedrich Juergenson, a spirit researcher who died in 1987. At the moment the image was projected, a message from Juergenson appeared on Homes' computer saying, in part, "We are able to enter your structure in various ways. I am sending you again a projection of myself." More messages and images are being received on TVs and PCs at the research lab in Luxembourg.